T H E S P A N I S H C O O P E R A T I O N I N

T H E P H I L I P P I N E S

Summary of Activities

MAY 2016

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Technical Cooperation Office

Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID)

Embassy of Spain in the Philippines

27/F BDO Equitable Tower,

8751 Paseo de Roxas, Makati 1226, Metro Manila (Philippines)

TEL. (+632) 8489906-08. Fax. (+632)8489909

otc.filipinas@aecid.es www.aecid.ph

According to the Master Plan for Spanish Cooperation2013-2016, the Philippines is the only priority countryin Asia. The first mutual Cooperation Agreement datesback to 1974, and in 1992 this relationship wasstrengthened with the opening of the TechnicalCooperation Office of the Spanish Agency forInternational Development Cooperation (AECID) inManila. For the past 20 years, the Spanish Cooperationhas consistently conducted programs and projectswhich have made the Philippines one of the majorbeneficiaries of Spanish Cooperation worldwide.

The Partnership Framework for the SpanishCooperation in the Philippines 2014-2017 foreseesthe work in three different pillars:

- Bilateral Cooperation.- Cooperation channeled via NGOs.- Multilateral Cooperation.

Additionally, it is important to highlight the actionsconducted in humanitarian and emergency aid.

Multilateral Cooperation

Significant Spanish ODA resources have also beeninvested through the United Nations agencies. Spain hasbeen one of the main funders to the UN System’smultilateral programs in the Philippines, with acontribution of approximately 24 million Euros in the lasttwo decades. Amongst them, the MillenniumDevelopment Goals Achievement Fund (MDG-F) standsout the most. The new Sustainable Development GoalsFund (MDGF) started with an intervention in water andsanitation for $ 3 Million. There are also ongoingprojects with UN Habitat and UN Women.

Cooperation channeled vía NGOs

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) accountprominently in the Spanish Cooperation activities in thecountry, managing an average of around 1/3 of theSpanish Official Development Assistance (ODA) to thecountry.

There are currently 14 Spanish NGOs implementingdevelopment projects in the Philippines in closepartnership with Philippine Civil Society Organizations,11 of which have permanent representation in thecountry. AECID funding to NGOs is channeled throughMultiannual Cooperation Agreements and Annual Callsfor Projects.

Bilateral cooperation

Significant actions on areas such as governance,support to the peace process, education and healthwere implemented bilaterally by AECID with Philippinegovernment institutions, which cover humanresources development, social participation and theupgrading of facilities and infrastructure. To be moreefficient in the aims of the Partnership Frameworksigned in March 2014, a concentration in the twopriority sectors is being carried out.

Projects such as Escuela Taller and various activities ofscientific and academic cooperation make the SpanishCooperation in the Philippines one of the mostcomprehensive in terms of aid modalities andfinancing instruments.

The Spanish Cooperation in the Philippines

Strategic Objectives of the Spanish Cooperation in the Philippines

The main goal of the Spanish Cooperation in thePhilippines in the last decade was to achieve theMillennium Development Goals, in accordance withthe International Agenda on Quality and AidEffectiveness. The current priorities are defined in theCountry Partnership Framework for the SpanishCooperation with the Philippines 2014-2017, witch isaligned with the global and sectorial prioritiesoutlined in the Philippine Development Plan 2011-2016 .

The priority sectors in which the Spanish Cooperationfocus its interventions are:

Governance, in the next strategic objectives: Strengthening of the Public Sector. To promote the rule of law and safeguard of

Human Rights. Support to the Peace Process.Gender and Development

Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR).

Quality response to humanitarian crisis.

The general objective of the Spanish Cooperation is to contribute to poverty reduction through human development and sustainable management of natural

resources

The Partnership Framework is the basis for ourcountry strategic planning, that puts into effect themission of the Spanish Cooperation on the field,provides greater sectorial concentration throughresults oriented development cooperation anddefines the priorities and sectors of concentration ofour cooperation with the Philippines for the period2014-2017.

The process of geographical and sectorialconcentration was jointly defined with the Philippineauthorities through a close dialogue, with theparticipation of all stakeholders, the actor of theSpanish Cooperation in the country and otherinternational donors.

The Spanish Cooperation in the Philippines

MINDANAO, with special focus on theCARAGA Region and ZAMBOANGA

The Caraga Region is located in the northeast part ofMindanao. With Butuan as the capital city, it has 5provinces: Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigaodel Norte, Surigao del Sur and the island-province ofDinagat. Zamboanga has been a long-time recipientof the Spanish Cooperation in various sectors, mainlyhealth, education, fisheries and water and sanitation.

BICOL Region

Located in the southeast part of Luzon, Bicol has 6provinces: Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur,Sorsogon, and the island-provinces of Masbate andCatanduanes. Major cities are Legazpi, as political andadministrative center, and Naga, as the cultural andbusiness center. AECID maintains a Regional Office inLegazpi.

Geographical areas of concentration of the Spanish Cooperation in the Philippines

To be more effective, the Spanish Cooperation, in coordination with the Government of the Philippines, hasidentified two priority areas of intervention: the Bicol Region and the island of Mindanao, with special focus onthe Caraga Region and the Zamboanga Peninsula.

The Spanish Cooperation in the Philippines

The Bicol Region is one of the most disaster-prone areasin the Philippines. The region records a significantseismic and volcanic activity which seriously affects thedaily life of its population. It is also frequently exposedto tropical storms and typhoons which often victimizeits people and cause damage to properties andlivelihood. The prevention of natural disasters is a keycomponent for development, sustained growth andpoverty reduction.

Despite being rich in natural resources and having aunique business and tourism potential, Mindanaostill has poverty indicators below the nationalaverage. The Spanish Cooperation will continueworking in Mindanao by supporting theimplementation of public policies (education, healthand social protection) and encouraging the civilsociety participation to improve the coverage ofbasic social needs. Particularly we will support thestrengthening of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)interventions.

In 2010, the Official Development Assistance to the Philippines exceeded

25 m€. In 2011, the contributions amounted 19.5 m€, and in 2012,despite

budgetary constrains, it reached approximately 10.1 m€.

Facts and figures of the Spanish Cooperation in the Philippines

Between 2012 and 2014 more than 50% ofSpanish ODA was allocated to DesasterRisk Reduction, while 17% was allocated toGobernance, with a 23% investment inHumanitarian Aid.

The Spanish ODA in the Philippines hasbeen channeled mainly through grants.The framework of the Spanish Cooperationwith the Philippines 2014-2017 opens upthe possibility of incorporatingreimbursable aid, more suitable for someof the Spanish Cooperation’s interventionsin the Philippines. One operation iscurrently in the identification process.

Spain is an important bilateral partner of thePhilippines. The ODA contributions allocatedplaced Spain in 2011 as the 7º internationaldonor, and the second bilateral donor of ODAgrants amongst the EU member states. Despitethe context of budgetary constraints in recentyears due to the economic crisis, the SpanishCooperation holds a significant commitment tothe Philippines.

Although we put first the quality of the projectsinstead of the actual resources employed, it isnecessary to illustrate in figures the relevance ofthe Spanish Cooperation’s Programs and Projectsin the Philippines. Since 2005, the OfficialDevelopment Assistance (ODA) to the Philippineshas amounted over 190 million euros, equivalentto approximately 10 billion Philippine Pesos.

The Spanish Cooperation in the Philippines

According to DAC, Spain was ranked in 2011 the 7th donor worldwide, and 2nd

from the European Union in terms of ODA grants to the Philippines

17,18%

13,16%

4,67%

4,40%

6,27%

3,51%50,81%

23,17%

Sectorial distribution 2012-2014Gobernabilidad

Otros

Salud

Cultura y Desarrollo

Género y Desarrollo

Construcción de la Paz

RRD

Ayuda Humanitaria

The Spanish Cooperation in the Philippines

Consolidating democratic processes and the rule of law. Good governance

The Spanish Cooperation has been working on thegovernance sector in the Philippines for many years,where all key players are bilaterally and multilaterallyinvolved.

To the Spanish NGOs, Governance has been atraditional sector of intervention in the localdevelopment planning and community organizationimprovement.

CONTEXTThrough Bilateral Cooperation, the Spanish Agency forInternational Development Cooperation (AECID) iscurrently implementing three institutionalstrengthening projects that are worth highlighting:

-“Institutional Strengthening of National and LocalGovernance on Human Rights and EconomicEmpowerment with Gender Focus: Implementing theMagna Carta of Women”. The project aims to supportthe role of the Philippine Commission on Women(PCW) shaping public policy on gender mainstreamingand women empowerment.

-“Mainstreaming Peace and Development in LocalGovernance in the Philippines”. The project supportsthe Office of the Presidential Adviser on the PeaceProcess (OPAPP) and the implementation of thePAMANA initiative as the national government programand framework for peace and development.

-”Institutional strengthening of the Commission onHuman Rights (CHR)”. The project aims to support theinstitutional, technical and operational capacities of theCHR, with special emphasis on its monitoring andevaluation mandate, to better promote and protectHuman Rights and to boost its presence at the regional,municipal and community levels.

The success of this latest project gave rise to theformulation of the “GOJUST” programme between theEuropean Union and AECID, within the Rule of Lawsector. The 4th component of this programme, onHuman Rights, is implemented by AECID through adelegated cooperation mechanism, and focuses on thestrengthening of the CHR and the Regional HumanRights Commission of ARMM, as well as the support tocivil society organizations.

AECID actively participates in the multidonor KaSaMaInitiative, promoting human rights innovative projectsof the civil society organizations in the Philippines.Spain is currently funding KaSaMa’s TechnicalSecretariat.

MAIN ACTIONS IN THE SECTOR

The consolidations of democratic processes and the rule of law is one of the priority sectors in the StrategicFramework 2014-2017 of the Spanish Cooperation in the Philippines.

The Spanish Cooperation in the Philippines

Strengthening the Disaster Risk Response Capabilities (DRR) in the Philippines from the Spanish Aid

The Philippines is one of the most vulnerablecountries to natural disasters worldwide. Philippineauthorities are aware of the vulnerability of thecountry and, increasingly, the prevention andpreparedness to disasters take a greater role in thegovernment's agenda, both national and local. Infact after the disaster in November 2013 caused byTyphoon Haiyan, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) hasbecome a major national priority and the strategy tofollow for the reconstruction of the affected areas.

The Spanish Cooperation has an extensive workingexperience with the national institutionsresponsible for the management of desasters, aswell as with the specialized UN agencies, theprovincial governments, municipalities and NGOs.

CONTEXT

NATIONAL: Strengthening the national strategyon prevention, preparedness and response tonatural disasters, through the support to theOffice of Civil Defense (OCD) and the Departmentof Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) forthe response component, and through thereplication of the Clark logistic base model inother areas of the country (The Clark base is partof the strengthening of the Philippine nationalsystem, so that it becomes the first pilot referralcenter that can be replicated in the rest ofcountry).

REGIONAL: Support at the regional level in theaspects of prevention, preparedness andresponse to natural disasters, through thereplication of the successful models of theprovinces of Albay and Nueva Ecija, bothimplemented and funded through recent projectsof the Spanish Cooperation.

LOCAL: Support to local governments in theprevention, preparedness and response tonatural disasters, through support to DILG-LGA.

All these levels will are supported through bilateraland multilateral projects (through OCHA, WFP andUNICEF) and through the Spanish NGOs.

Up to now, the Spanish cooperation efforts havebeen funded through donations. Since the signing ofthe Country Partnership Framework 2014-2017, theSpanish Cooperation has made available a highlyconcessional credits of FONPRODE instrument to thePhilippine government

INTERVENTIONS IN THE DRR SECTOR

The Spanish Cooperation has been working in the DRR sector for over a decade, and in the context of the newCountry Partnership Framework with the Philippines 2014-2017, Disaster Risk Reduction is one of the twopriority sectors.

MECHANISMS

Bilateral Cooperation Multilateral Cooperation Grants to NGOs Reimbursable Aid- FONPRODE

Humanitarian and Emergency Aid in the Philippines

The Philippines usually tops the list as one of the mostvulnerable countries to natural disasters mainly causedby typhoons and tropical storms, and also byearthquakes and volcanic eruptions (in 2012 and 2013 itranked first in loss of life caused by natural disastersworldwide), thus making it one of the main recipients ofthe Spanish Humanitarian Aid.

Spain was the top bilateral donor in the response to theeffects of tropical storm Sendong in December 2011 witha grant contribution of 1.4 million euros and one of thetop donors after typhoon Bopha in December 2012, withdonations amounting to 1.84 million euros. PresidentAquino himself thanked our collaboration on thisoccasion. Also, Spain was an important donor during theemergency response to the devastating effects of thesuper Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013, with a totalcontribution amounting to 3.34 million euros. This figurerises to 15.9 million if we include Spanish privatedonations.

AECID maintains long term humanitarian agreementswith three Spanish NGOs with expertise in the field ofhumanitarian and emergency aid (Acción contra elHambre-Action Against Hunger, Spanish Red Cross andSave the Children-Spain), which are activated as the needarises. The said NGOs activated these agreements in2011 due to the floods and the damages caused bytyphoons Pedring, Quiel and Washi (Sendong) in CentralMindanao, and again in 2012 after the Tropical StormBopha.

The last activation was done in November 2013 tomitigate the effects left by Super Typhoon Haiyan(Yolanda). Other humanitarian Spanish NGOs, such asDoctors Without Borders-Spain, Intermon-Oxfam andMédicos del Mundo, came in addition to the threealready present in the country.

Also in 2013, the earthquake in Bohol and thedisplaced population emergency due to the armedconflict in Zamboanga triggered the Spanishhumanitarian aid. For 2014-2017, the AECIDapproved three agreements with NGOs whichinclude disaster preparation and response.

Additional humanitarian aid has been providedthrough the UN System. UNICEF, WFP, UNHCR andOCHA have implemented emergency interventionsfunded by AECID. Through these actions we arecontributing to improve the living conditions ofinternally displaced persons and other vulnerablegroups in conflict and natural disasters-affectedareas in the country.

To prevent disasters, various comprehensiveprograms have been implemented in DisasterPreparedness and Response. For example, in theProvince of Albay, Bicol Region, the capabilities oflocal authorities have been strengthened andseveral public schools have been rehabilitated toserve as evacuation centers equipped with basicfacilities. Other programme of Desaster RiskReduction has been implemented in the province ofNueva Ecija, while in the Clark Air Base a LogisticalCenter for Emergencies has been installed.

The Spanish Cooperation in the Philippines

The Spanish Cooperation in the Philippines

Humanitarian Response of the Spanish Cooperation during Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) emergency

Bilateral: Regional Hospital of Tacloban (EasternVisayas Regional Medical Center-EVRMC-) the highestreferral medical institution in Region VIII. The Spanishbilateral aid has focused on providing healthcare andsupport for the resumption of its regular hospitalservices. A Spanish medical team of 35 members wasdeployed to the EVRMC during the emergency.Additionally, hospital basic services such as water andelectricity were restored and the operation ofdelivery rooms, operating rooms and ward that havesuffered minor damage were also restored. Inaddition, several tons of drugs (Reina SofiaFoundation) and emergency medical equipment(AECID) were also donated.

The Typhoon Haiyan, with its devastating consequences, generated a great display of solidarity in Spain.Institutions and individuals widely mobilized their resources and funds to assist the victims. Not only publicinstitutions such as AECID, but also NGOs and private companies mobilized resources. This is a brief descriptionof the various interventions implemented by the Spanish society.

On November 8, 2013 Typhoon Haiyan (local nameYolanda) hit the Philippines, particularly the Visayasregion composed of different islands. One of thehardest hit areas was the Region VIII (Leyte and SamarIslands ) Tacloban City being the most damaged in theVisayas region. The typhoon Haiyan was the strongestrecorded typhoon in the Philippines. Nine of the 17administrative regions have been affected by thisunprecedented typhoon which crossed the countryfrom east to west causing destruction and death.

Four days before the arrival of the typhoon, theEmbassy, through the TCO issued two early warningsto both the Spanish NGOs and the Spanish staffworking in International Organizations in thePhilippines as well as to AECID headquarters warningof the virulence of the phenomenon and advisingcertain safety and prevention measures. This earlywarning was also communicated to the Delegation ofthe European Union in The Philippines and the rest ofits Member States.

Apart from human lives, the Typhoon has left verygreat damage to infrastructure and agriculture(approximately amounting Php 40 Billion, or 664million Euros). 6,201 deaths were officially reportedand 1,785 missing. Over 4 million people are displaced(about 930,000 families).

BACKGROUND

Contributions of the Spanish Aid to the emergency

1. AECID: 3.038.693€

Bilateral contribution: 754.000€ NGOs : 1.984.693€ Multilateral (WFP, UNICEF): 300.000€

2. Spanish Regional Governments: 297.336,86€

TOTAL ODA: 3.336.029€

3. Others CE* (Fundación Reina Sofia, CARITAS, CRE, Zabalketa, INDRA): 1.476.000€.

*Preliminary figures from TCO

4.- Private contributions channeled via Spanish NGOS and UN agencies (Spanish Red Cross and UNICEF: 11.097.000€

TOTAL: 15.909.029 €

INTERVENTION OF THE SPANISH AID

Multilateral: WFP (150.000 €), UNICEF (150.000 €)

Via NGOs: Activation of Humanitarian Agreementsfrom Action Against Hunger Spain, Save The ChildrenSpain, Spanish Red Cross, Intermón Oxfam, Doctorswithout Borders Spain and Médicos del Mundo